Sisyphus
by Smash-Photographer
Summary: When Draco gets the dark mark he attempts to run. But rebuffed by the order he is forced to return. One witch does decide to help him and they become close, supporting one another. But when Draco gets framed for a crime he didn't commit, he must face the consequences of having to keep certain things a secret. Can their love survive war, sides and accusations?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own anything, though I wished I'd own Draco. **

**When Draco gets the dark mark he attempts to run. But rebuffed by the order he is forced to return. One witch does decide to help him and they become close, supporting one another. But when Draco gets framed for a crime he didn't commit, he must face the consequences of having to keep certain things a secret. The war seems more complicated than ever before and Draco and Hermione must fight to get back to one another.**

The building was dark and gloomy. It an old manor like his own, same architecture, same material. The only difference that there was, were the occupants, residing in the room next to him where he waited for them to give the signal to join them. It was them, and specifically one of them that gave the place a macabre feeling. No wonder they call him the dark lord, he thought.

Draco wanted to run. Get away from here and the faith that awaited him. The front door was behind him, open. It gave him the fake illusion that he could actually walk away but he knew that he would be dead within minutes and his mother counted on him.

2 weeks ago his father was arrested, on charges of being a death eater. Overnight, his family had lost all their respect in the wizarding world and became outcasts. The excuse that his aunt had forced her sister and her husband into joining the Dark Lord's army by use of the imperiatus curse didn't work anymore.

He really couldn't blame anyone for not respecting his family. He had long since lost his respect for his father. When he was little he admired him. They were the good ones, the noble ones, in the childhood stories in which his father taught him that he was worth more than anything in the world. He was a pureblood and a Malfoy at that. His parents spoiled him rotten, and he loved it. Growing up however he soon noticed that things weren't as black and white as his father made them out to be. The reality of it all wasn't like the glorious adventures he had imagined when he was younger, not at all. It was disgusting, nerve wrecking, dark and twisted.

The sight of the Hufflepuff boy, Cedric Diggory, brought back from the maze in his fourth year was the first strike against the carefully build beliefs that his father had built inside his head. Diggory was a pureblood, one of them. If the Dark Lord was so great, why did he kill him before he even talked to him? Surely, he would see the value?

According to his father he already knew that with a father like Amos, there wouldn't be much convincing. But then other things happened, small things under the radar that he heard whenever his parents thought they were whispering out of ear shot again. Harry Potter was the big favorite of everyone and slowly but certainly, a small voice whispered in his mind that maybe this was because Harry represented the right ideas and morals.

When his father was arrested he pittied him. There he was, still standing tall in his beliefs. Being mocked by the wizarding world. Still believing in the dark lord, still thinking he was going to be rescued like he did with his aunt and Dolohov and so many others. There was no glory for purebloods in the trial, there was only humiliation and pain, as he steered his mother through the crowd of journalists and paparazzi. All there to earn a coin on the fall of the Malfoy family. The fall, not the rise. Because he started to realize deep inside, what they did was wrong. What they were still doing was wrong. But he knew he couldn't escape the wrongness. It was in his family and through is family he was bound to it.

He wondered how his father was doing at the moment. Up there in Azkaban. The Dementors probably didn't take too long to wipe away his hope of rescue. His hope that the Dark Lord might actually need him, instead of letting him rot in a cell. He wondered how his father coped with that.

His thoughts were interrupted when his aunt opened the door.

"Come along boy! Oooh Draco such an honor. For the dark lord to see your true worth at such a young age. The last male descendant of the Black line."

Of course he was the last male descendant of the Black line. The other one was killed by her own hand only a month ago. Another pureblood.

He walked into the room and there he was, the source of all things that had gone wrong. Respect for purebloods, he had promised. Rule by purebloods. And what had it gotten any of them, misery. Worst part was that nobody seemed to notice that part yet.

"Draco, boy…" Voldemort's hand reached, "come closer."

Draco bowed before him. "My lord."

"You know why you're here?"

"Yes my lord."

"Your mother doesn't think you're ready yet. She thinks you're only a boy. Tell me, are you just a little boy Draco?"

He looked out of the corner of his eyes to his mother, she was on the verge of crying he could see that. Damn his father for taking his entire family into this mess, only to be stupid enough to get caught and leave them with the problems. Part of him wanted to say he was indeed just a boy, no matter how humiliating that would be. But he knew Voldemort didn't want him to escape this. He wanted him here, so he could punish his father.

"No, my lord."

"Yes, my lord. No, my lord… There won't be any difference around here when the boy takes his father's place. You're both coaxers, as long as it takes you where you want to be."

No, they were survivors. Doing and saying what needs to be said in order for them to live through the day. Voldemort gestured to come closer and he did. Voldemort grabbed his left arm forcefully and pointed his wand at it. An excruciating pain went through him, for a moment he thought he was hit by the cruciatus curse. When he pulled back a throbbing pain remained where the wand had touched him, Draco didn't need to look to know what was there. The Dark Lord had marked him, he was now in his inner most circle. The last place he wanted to be.

When he and his mother got home she immediately started to sob in the hallway. Draco tried to be there for his mother but he just didn't know how. When his father was around his mother held herself strong, like a true Malfoy should. But things had never been as difficult since he left and he wasn't there to hide it from. It was fairly new and Draco was at a loss.

"Mother?"

His mother just grabbed him in a hug.

"I don't know what he's planning to let you do but I don't believe it to be good. That… That monster!"

Draco was shocked to hear his mother talk about the Dark lord in that matter. True he hadn't been thinking the most loyal things himself, but to hear that his mother has them and to hear her talk so freely about it.

"We can't run away, mother."

"No, we can't. He'd kill us like he did with Igor."

She visibly shuddered as if she actually knew the details, which concerned him. Then it hit him, he'd have to take lives as well. He wasn't too sure if he could do that: bragging, bullying, … Yes, those were the things he was good at, though not always proud. But intentionally hurting, let alone killing? He wasn't too sure if he could do that. No, he was sure… he couldn't.

"I won't sleep again, I'm afraid." His mother said, why don't you join me in the sitting room.

"Mother, you can't keep this up, there's still some sleeping draught and potion for dreamless sleep left. Take those two and try to sleep for once okay?" His tone wasn't that friendly, but his mother appreciated it either way.

She went upstairs and Draco, knowing he wouldn't sleep at all as well wandered towards the library. Trying to take his mind off with some reading. Once he entered, the first thing he saw was the carpet of the Black family tree that his mother had hung there alongside the Malfoy family tree. His hand brushed over the burned out holes: Sirius Black, Andromeda Black, … They all started to have the same doubts he had. They all picked up the courage and did something about it. How did he end up with a dark mark on his arm? Were it the Malfoy genes? His aunt did always say his father was a coward. But then again, she was as mad as you can get… and that was already before Azkaban.

Draco grabbed his wand and smashed the first thing he saw to pieces, it appeared to be a vase. He turned back towards the carpet. Sirius Black, he even joined the order. The more Draco thought about the order the more an idea came to mind. His mother would be out for hours on end, he crept upstairs, packed a backpack with all he could think off within 10 minutes, using magic and put on some muggle clothes before he left the manor.

He didn't know where he could find the order and he was sure that they would be rather difficult to track for a death eater like him. But there was one place, one place that could possibly help him further. If only he would be able to get to the address. How did muggles find addresses anyway, surely they had a way as well?

He apparated towards London and just decided to ask a muggle.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for an address. Can you help me please?" he asked a girl, about the same age as him.

"Sure." She said, taking out a white box. He recognized it as a muggle communication device. "What do you want to know?"

"Euhm… I'm looking for the address of Granger."

"You're gonna have to be more specific than that, loads of Grangers around here." She gave him a look. THAT look. He wasn't in the mood for flirting.

"Euhm, her first name is Hermione."

The girl shook his head, "No Hermione Granger, I'm afraid."

"Her parents are euhm…" What was the word again, he had heard it but that was four years ago. "dent… dent…"

"Dentists?"

Draco nodded his head, that was it. The girl started ticking the box with her fingers again and smiled.

"Gotcha… oooh, that's all the way in Canterbury."

Canterbury, he could visualize the cathedral so he could easily aparate there. He thanked the girl and left to an alleyway, preparing himself.

**Hope you like this start, more to come!**


	2. Chapter 2

**HarryPotterNut1**** – Thanks, I'm glad that you like it. I don't think updates will be a problem. I've already written out a summary of the entire story so it's not in danger of becoming a victim of writer's block.**

**DracoSly – Well I hope I won't dissapoint.**

**-**** Chapter 2 -**

Draco arrived at Canterbury, he was now far away from his mother and his life as a death eater. If he could get it right, if he could persuade them, he and his mother would be safe by the end of the night. With the help of a few drunks he soon found Hermione's house and knocked. Of course nobody answered, it was 23 o'clock already. He did hear a window open, and looked up in the, as he had expected, shocked face of Hermione Granger. She quickly got over her shock and pulled out her wand.

"I don't know what you're doing here but it can't be good. I suggest you apparated back from where you came from. Don't think I won't protect everyone in this house!"

Draco raised his hands…

"Granger! Trust me! You've got me wrong. I'm here to ask for help."

Hermione's face was once again filled with surprise but she kept her wand steady, aimed at him. Her vigilance never wavering. Draco pulled his sleeve down, revealing the dark mark, her expression didn't change and he couldn't read her at all.

"He forced it on me, he wants me to take my father's place, I don't want this. I didn't know to who to turn."

He could see a light switching on behind her.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" he heard a woman's voice say.

"Just someone I know who needs help."

She went to the side, and Draco saw a woman, whom he recognized as her mother, look out of the window as well.

"The back door is open, I suggest you come in so me and my husband, and the neighbors can get some decent sleep."

Not sure how to proceed he looked at Hermione who just nodded. By the time he had reached the back door she was already waiting for him, wand still in hand.

"Now… tell me everything that happened."

He sat down and started talking, explaining everything that happened since his father got arrested, how you-know-who had forced him to take his father's place. How he kept on talking about some big assignment of which he knew that would surely test him, because he knew that all of this, the dark mark, the mission,… it was all there to punish his father seeing how he couldn't get to him in Azkaban. Hermione listened to him, not saying a word, not interrupting him.

"So you're scared to be punished by Voldemort –" he winced at the name "- and now you turn to me for protection. Who says that you won't betray me or the order, the second you're under treat?"

"Because it's more than being scared. Yes, I am scared. I'm not going to deny it." He said, "But I'm also doubting his beliefs, I'm starting to doubt the things my father taught me. Not all of it, you can't expect me to have changed my stripes in one night. But I promise I'll work on it."

Hermione remained silent for a while, studying him closely.

"I don't trust the way you appear here out of nowhere, suddenly pouring out your heart and doubts and fears to me.. You despise me. You despise everything I stand for."

She didn't wait for him to answer, but merely walked towards the other room. He heard her saying something but he didn't know to whom or what. A minute later Kingsley, Lupin and Moody stood in the room. At the sight of him they aimed their wands, ready to strike him down if it weren't for Hermione stopping them.

"He came here for help." She said.

"Hermione," Remus said, he looked more tired than ever, still mourning his last friend. "You don't believe that do you?"

"It's true, I'm willing to take veritaserum to prove it!"

The silence that followed was tensed. Finally Moody took out a flask and presented it to Malfoy.

"Drink up! If you want to prove it."

Malfoy did as he was told with just a moment's hesitation. Moody went to sit before him, ready to question him.

"What's your name?"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy."

"When were you born?"

"5th of June 1980."

"And your parents are?"

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy."

"Where do you live?"

"Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. Look is this going somewhere?"

He was getting more and more tensed and nervous.

"Yes, establishing if you are indeed who you appear to be."

"I thought swallowing veritaserum and answering my name would've done the trick."

Kingsley was getting impatient as well and urged Mad-eye to just cut to the case.

"Why are you here?"

"To seek protection for me and my mother from the dark lord."

"And why is that?"

"He wants to use us to punish our father for losing an important artifact and ruining the retrieval of the prophecy in the ministry of magic."

"What's this object?"

"I don't know."

They kept questioning him and he had no other choice than to answer truthfully. After an entire hour they finally stopped. Hermione had placed a glass of water in front of him which he accepted, looking grateful.

"So?" Kingsley asked.

"It's too dangerous! We don't know if we can trust him. Yes, he says so now but what if he suddenly gets over his sudden change of moral and decides to turn us all in."

"Does your mother know you're here?" Remus asked.

"She doesn't."

They continued to argue among themselves. Finally, the decision was made that it was too dangerous. Draco was too far down the path. Hermione couldn't help herself and protested, she had seen during the interrogation that Draco was indeed changing. He may not be there yet, but he was making an effort.

"It doesn't matter Granger. They won't help me, and certainly not my mother. And I'm not about to leave my mother alone with him and his gang. "

He got up from his chair.

"Thank you Hermione, truly. But I need to go. If I don't get the protection here than I need to be back before anyone notices my attempt to run."

Hermione nodded in understanding and walked him out to the garden.

"Will you be alright?"

"We'll see when we get my mission. Thank you once again, Hermione, I'm truly grateful."

Hermione smiled, she knew it was the veritaserum talking and was glad to see it.

"Even though I'm just a mudblood?" She tried pushing the veritaserum a bit further.

"Well… you're an advanced mudblood. Bit better than all the other ones." He said with a smile.

"Let me help you."

"There's absolutely nothing you can do. I don't need your help." And with that he apparated away.

Hermione went back inside, this time fuming at the men still there.


	3. Chapter 3

HarryPotterNut1 – Thanks, it really means much to me!

So here it is, the third chapter, hope you enjoy!

The manor felt colder than ever, Voldemort had "graced" them with a visit, instead of summoning them. That in itself was never a good sign. It meant he had to tell them something that wasn't meant for other death eaters ears, which could only mean he was about to give Draco's assignment.

Taking a deep sigh, he tried his best to remember every occlumency lesson his godfather had told him, he hadn't been discovered by his mother or anyone else when he went to the order for help. It would be a deadly mistake if he messed it up now by letting the dark lord in on his little secret.

"Draco, my boy." He greeted, though Draco was sure, he was as much the Dark Lord's boy as the next house elf, though he pushed that thought, far, far away, in the back of his mind. "I've given you the honor of trusting you as a member of my most inner circle, but now an even greater honor awaits you."

"My lord? What possible honor could be greater?" Draco asked while using all of his concentration to suppress the thought that doing the Dark Lord's dirty work wasn't exactly what he would call an honor.

"I have risen above every wizard known in history. I have risen above the powers of Merlin himself. I am what you could call invincible. Though still there are some who seem to think that they can still resist."

"A foolish thought, my lord."

"It's because of Dumbledore, he gives people hope where there is none. I believe that a more foolish man is yet to be born. But as long as he lives he is a beacon of hope where I don't wish it. You are the only one in his neighborhood that I can possibly trust with this assignment. Draco, I want you to kill Dumbledore."

Draco's mind started racing, it couldn't be, surely he had misheard the man in front of him?

"My lord?"

"You've heard me quite well Draco…"

"But there must be someone else, though Dumbledore doesn't reach your greatness, he is still 10 times the wizard I am!"

"You've been trained in the powers of the dark side, there is no greater power than that."

"What about professor Snape?" Draco tried, he was closer to Dumbledore and more powerful.

"Professor Snape is a valuable spy. As much as I would like to see Dumbledore gone, I will not sacrifice a spy to do so."

With that, all was said and Voldemort took his leave. Draco still stood on the same spot, frozen. This wasn't a mission, this was a death penalty. Voldemort knew he could never succeed, he knew he didn't have the guts to pull through and even if he did, he knew he didn't have the powers to succeed. Either he would be killed by the Dark Lord for disobeying. Which would be a cruel ending, he was sure. Or he would be killed by someone from the order of Dumbledore, and that would be merciful, but he would die in the knowledge that the whole wizarding world would see him as nothing more but a foolish death eater. A young man who thought that the right way forward, was on the side of evil.

His mother entered the room in tears, she had heard the entire conversation and reached for her son. But he couldn't face his crying mother right now. He left the room in a panicking rage.

Once he was in his room he kept pacing in his room for hours, ignoring his mother's pleas on the other side of the room. He couldn't go to the order, they didn't trust him. They might think that he was side-tracking them, probably not believing that the dark lord himself would send one of his death eaters out on a suicide mission like this. He would only make them look the other side, to see what the dark lord was truly up to and ignore the actual facts.

He walked to his desk and grabbed parchment and a quill, there was one person who had shown the slightest faith that he might be turning and as much as he disliked her, she had brains on her. Right now, she might be his only hope on finding a solution.

He wrote a note, walked to his owl and let the animal fly out of the window, note attached.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, he flood out of his bedroom, towards the meeting place. A small pub located near the quidditch pitch of the Falmouth Falcons. They weren't in season so the pub should be as good as empty. He walked outside and found she was already waiting there, wand ready.

"This is probably the most foolish thing I've ever done." Hermione said as he closed in on her, "You better not make me regret it because I've made a note and turned it into a portkey. If I'm not back within the hour it will transport itself to different members of the order and they'll know where to go and who to go after."

"As much as I admire your intelligence, you might as well be dead within the hour."

"Oh, that's comforting." Hermione said, tightening her grip on her wand.

Draco raised his hands in defense.

"I'm only kidding." He remained silent for a few seconds and then looked up at her, "He has given me my assignment. He basically wants me dead."

Hermione gave him a questioning look, basically asking him to explain himself further which he did. He explained his mission, how he must kill Dumbledore and how the Dark Lord probably knew that he wouldn't succeed.

"It's like I feared, I'm to serve as a punishment for my father because he is safe in Azkaban, and can't be touched by the dark lord there."

Hermione almost felt the urge to console him, to hug him, as she would've done with anyone else. But she knew he was a death eaters, and Mad-Eye's warning of constant vigilance was running through her head.

"It still seems strange that he would sacrifice a valuable member of his death eaters in order to punish another."

"In case you hadn't noticed yet, Granger, the dark lord's kind of a borderline psycho. I know he's hiding it pretty well, I mean just yesterday the ministry was still talking about giving the man the medal of peace this year but then they opted that perhaps Archimago or Baba Yaga were more suited." Draco's answer dripped with sarcasm and he couldn't care less. Hermione tried her best not to show how annoyed she was by it.

"Why is it that you always come to me for help? It's not as if you've been friendly with me in the past is it?"

To be honest, he wasn't quite sure how to answer that, it's not as if he longed for her help, it's just that she was the only one who could but an honest answer like that wouldn't get him anywhere so he just stuck to flattery.

"Because, you're the only one I know with brains, despite… you know." Well, it wasn't really flattery but it was as close as he would get with her, he supposed.

"Despite the fact that I'm a mudblood, you can say it. I'm not hurt by it, it's just a word. If anything it shows more about how narrow-minded the person who uses it is than it shows anything about my own worth."

"Who says I wasn't going to say muggleborn?"

She gave him a knowing look, they both knew that, that wasn't going to be the end of his sentence.

"So? What do you expect me to do?" she asked, "Inform the order?"

"No, they won't believe you when you tell them your source, that much is already established. I mean I've used veritaserum in front of them and they still wouldn't trust me. I need to find a way out of this."

Hermione nodded, "Simple. Don't do it."

"He'll have me killed! And not nicely, there won't be any avada kedavra."

"Pretend you're planning it, make things up, let things happen that slow you down. Let him believe for as long as you possibly can that you're working on it, and planning. He can't kill you if he thinks you're following his orders, not without a significant reason to explain to his other followers as to why he killed one of them, just like that."

"He does that all the time, Hermione!"

"That's why I said as long as possible. Who knows, he might be vanquished before you know it." She was keeping the prophecy in the back of her mind. She knew Dumbledore would help Harry as much as he could to end this as soon as possible.

"Aren't you the positive one."

"I have to!" Hermione replied, Draco could see the need and the determination on her face and left it at that.

"I have to go." She continued. "Don't want any notes disappearing before I get to them."

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I know you'll do what is right, Draco."

And with that she walked back into the pub, flooing back to the nearest fire place to her home.

Draco waited an hour longer, thinking things through.

**Feel free to review and give me feedback. It really helps a lot!**


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